The president of the Lithuanian bishops’ conference warned that his country and its neighbours could be targeted if Russian President Vladimir Putin imposes his will on Ukraine. Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, who is also president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, urged Western countries to maintain a “hard line of deterrence. “We’re in…
US pastor resigns after discovering invalid baptisms Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix said baptisms performed by a priest during years of ministry in the diocese are invalid, leading to the resignation of the clergyman, February 1. In a January 14 letter to the diocese, Bishop Olmsted said diocesan officials learned from the Vatican Congregation for…
The Nicaragua national assembly ordered the revocation of the legal status of five universities – including a Catholic university – along with several Catholic educational and charitable projects, marking the latest act of repression targeting supposed opponents of President Daniel Ortega. Projects that would be forced to close in the Diocese of Estelí include an…
When a suicide bomber attempted to enter a Catholic church in Pakistan in 2015, a 20-year-old volunteer security guard blocked him. “I will die but I will not let you go in,” he reportedly told the terrorist armed with explosives. The attacker then set off a bomb, immediately killing himself and the man now recognised as…
New UAE Apostolic Nunciature opens in Abu Dhabi The Substitute of the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, presided over a ceremony to officially open the new Apostolic Nunciature to the UAE on Friday. The event took place on the same day as the world marks the International Day of Human Fraternity, which commemorates…
A cardinal who had served as an aide to now-retired Pope Benedict XVI and was present for his meetings with survivors of clerical sexual abuse said he never found in him any shadow or attempt to hide or minimise anything”. The depths of human sin and depravity “distressed him intimately, and he sometimes remained silent…
The city of Louisville, Kentucky, is paying a local police officer a $75,000 settlement after he was suspended for praying outside an abortion clinic, according to the firm representing him. Officer Matthew Schrenger was off-duty when he stopped to pray with his father on the public sidewalk outside the EMW Women’s Surgical Center nearly a…
Fr Giuse (Joseph) Tran Ngoc Thanh, OP, was killed in a knife attack on Saturday. Fr Tran was attacked January 29 at a mission of Dak Mot, about 40 miles northwest of Kon Tum. He was hearing confessions before the last Mass of the evening, according to Ordo Praedicatorum on Facebook. The Diocese of Kon…
Pope to meet students as part of synodal process Highlighting the importance of a Church that truly listens, Pope Francis will participate in a virtual meeting hosted by Loyola University in Chicago with students from North, Central and South America. The February 24 virtual meeting, titled ‘Building Bridges: A Synodal Encounter between Pope Francis and…
Catholic bishops in the Holy Land invited their Orthodox counterparts to contribute to the consultation process leading to the 2023 Synod on Synodality. In a letter dated January 24, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land (ACOHL) explained that Catholics in the region were taking part in the local stage of a two-year synodal path launched by…